Donate By Post - FAQ

The British Red Cross cannot accept donations of goods for our emergency appeals. We’ll sell the items you donate by post in our shops to support people in crisis in the UK and overseas. You can donate cash to one of our emergency appeals online.

What are your bags made of?
Our bags are produced from sugar cane and are fully recyclable and carbon neutral.

Why can I only order 2 bags or return 2 bags/ boxes I have at home.
We need to manage our stock in a way that ensures all donations are on sale in our shops or online as soon as possible. Two bags/boxes per person keeps our operation moving and doesn’t overwhelm our warehouse. However, you can order more labels if needed, simply order again via the website and a link to download new labels will be sent to you.

What items do you accept?
We are grateful for all preloved clothes, including women’s clothes, men’s clothes, coats, shirts, trousers, and jeans.

We accept good quality and freshly cleaned:

Clothes
Handbags
Jewellery
Hats, gloves, and scarves

What items don’t you accept?
It costs us money to process things that we can't sell in our shops. Please do not send us:

Stained, damaged or dirty items
Worn socks or underwear
School uniforms
Shoes or boots
Non-clothing items

How do I send my bags/boxes back?
Click on the link in your order confirmation email and follow the instructions on the form. Once you submit the form, we will email you your labels or barcodes.

If you've just asked for labels: you should print them and stick them to the bags/boxes you already have at home.

If you've asked for barcodes: you should save them to your phone.

If you have ordered bags they will be sent out to you by post. When you have filled them follow the same procedure as above download to download labels.

Then simply take your bag(s) to your nearest Collect + location. If you have barcodes, show them to the shop assistant - they will print a label for you.

Important: you need a unique return label or barcode for each bag you want to send back.

My label has expired, what do I do now ?
No worries - simply generate another label or barcode by clicking on the link in your confirmation email and follow the instructions.

Note: labels and barcodes expire after 28 days from the day you receive them by email.

How heavy can a return bag be?
Each bag can weigh up to 10 kilos. That's about the weight of 4 reams of paper, a watermelon or an average size sausage dog!

Where do my bags go?
Postal donation bags/boxes are sent to the British Red Cross retail warehouse where they are sorted and the decision made where to sell the stock. However, they may be sent directly to one of our shops in need of stock – therefore we ask that you only order a label when your bag is ready to go, this ensures donations go to the best place.

Where are my bags sold?
Most donations are sold in our British Red Cross shops. Some items are also sold in our ASOS Marketplace and eBay stores.